Background: Hospital mortality statistics underestimate the consequences of trauma in geriatric patients. Investigators have noted that elderly individuals remain at risk for death in the weeks and months post-injury but no study has systematically examined discharged elderly trauma patients' long-term risk for death - across the spectrum of injury types and severity - on a statewide basis. Objective: To analyze 5-year survival and variables associated with time to death in the injured elderly. Methods: Data collected from the Oregon Trauma Registry will include all patients age 65+ at the time of injury, discharged alive from 1992 through 2000. Results will be cross linked with the National Death Index to compare age at death to that of a hypothetical, matched, referent group derived from life tables. Mortality rates specific for age at injury and injury type will be determined within gender and race strata. Five-year survival will be analyzed against the referent group. Additional patient and injury characteristics will be examined to identify variables associated with 5-year survival. Contribution: This foundational study will provide basic information about the survival patterns of injured elders as a basis for the development of interventions to improve geriatric survival. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]